Azurite (ex Dave Bergman Collection)

Item Description

The Morenci Mine has produced some of the most recognized and finest quality Azurites from any locality in Arizona. This piece dates back about 50 years and is a good representation of what was coming out of the mine at the time. This miniature sized piece features a few notably lustrous, very sharp, well-formed, rich blue colored crystals of Azurite measuring up to 8 mm sitting atop a vuggy matrix featuring small patches of green Malachite along with pastel power-blue Chrysocolla and some tiny sparkling colorless Calcite crystals. We also found a thin veinlet of rich orange-red Cuprite / Chalcotrichite on the piece as well. The piece is in good shape, though the largest Azurite has an incomplete area of growth on one edge. Best seen with magnification, and these are good quality crystals to be sure, despite their smaller size. From the collection of Colorado mining legend, Dave Bergman. Dave is now retired, but among other things, he was the foreman and primary person in charge of recovering specimens at the famous Sweet Home Mine near Alma, Colorado during the late 1970s. He is also the maternal grandfather of Brian Kosnar. See Dave's photo mining at the Sweet Home on page 58 of Peter Bancroft's book "Gem and Crystal Treasures".